Mitch Metcalf and I, along with veteran network executive Ted Frank, have put together our own versions of the schedules (the real ones will be announced at the nework Upfronts in New York next week).
We’ve already posted our recommended NBC, FOX and ABC schedules. CBS will be the last of the major networks to announce its Fall schedule on Wednesday, and it’s the network that most likes to keep its secrets, but based on what we know now, here’s what we think it should do:
MONDAY: We believe CBS should launch a 4-sitcom schedule on Thursday (see below), which will require one of the Monday tentpoles to move. We’d choose 2 Broke Girls as the one to shift, giving a new show the same 8:30PM slot that launched Girls, and FRIEND ME sounds like a suitable companion for HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER. After that, the 9-10PM hours don’t need to be touched.
TUESDAY: The NCIS hours provide a fine launching pad for VEGAS, the network’s highest-profile new hour with a cast headed by Dennis Quaid, Michael Chiklis and Carrie-Ann Moss.
WEDNESDAY: SURVIVOR, CRIMINAL MINDS and CSI are all doing fine.
THURSDAY: As noted, it’s time to pull the trigger on a 4-sitcom Thursday. Keep the BIG BANG THEORY/RULES OF ENGAGEMENT hour as is, move 2 BROKE GIRLS to 9PM, and introduce the new Mutchnick & Kohan comedy PARTNERS after it. PERSON OF INTEREST, which has been a sturdy and growing performer at 9PM, should thrive against the weaker competition an hour later.
FRIDAY: UNDERCOVER BOSS and BLUE BLOODS provide a good hammock for THE MENTALIST, which has been sagging a bit on Thursday but should fit in well the next night.
SATURDAY; Reruns and 48 HOUR MYSTERY.
SUNDAY: Unlike FOX, CBS doesn’t compress its schedule when late NFL games run long, which means that its Sunday shows tend to begin late. That’s a difficulty, but AMAZING RACE (after 60 MINUTES, of course) still provides a good lead-in for a new show, and the neo-Sherlock Holmes procedural ELEMENTARY should work here. At 10PM, the high-quality but low-rated THE GOOD WIFE won’t do better than it did at 9PM, but it also won’t damage the rest of the line-up.
MIDSEASON BENCH: CSI NY, plus the new GOLDEN BOY and MADE IN JERSEY.
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